Tokyo's city hall, the Metropolitan Government Office, is known around the world as one of the most ambitious pieces of modern municipal architecture. While that construction has been granted many well-deserved accolades, there are other examples of great government architecture not that far away. The seat of government for Sumida Ward is in a thoroughly modern, thoroughly respectable skyscraper on the Sumida river. In some ways, it outshines the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. Its exterior is curved blue glass on a grid of white spandrels. The central shaft of the building is flanked by wings that taper with altitude. This creates the false impression of height, especially when viewed from across the river. When the eye travels back down the height of the building, it's almost startling to come to the ground so quickly. The skyscraper is only 19 stories tall, but gives a much larger impression. The high-tech rocket ship impression is appropriate for a city so often depicted as leading the way to the future.

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